FRESS:

Monday, May 4, 2009

When I first passed by this place I thought it was some kind of new lounge. When I found out it was just ANOTHER 9th avenue Thai place I was disappointed. But the few reviews out about the restaurant were glowing, so I figured it couldn't hurt to check it out. This restaurant opened here in March and its other location is in Chelsea. The place is gorgeous: grey scale walls, classy moldings, a perfectly gaudy gaudy chandelier right in the middle, a cow print bar, vintage mirrors all around, and an entrance with huge glass windows and white door. Maybe that sounds weird all together, but trust me, it worked. The Detox cocktail made me feel healthier as I sipped it; its an organic vodka cocktail with ginger, pomegranate, honey, and cucumber. Another cocktail on the menu is Redbull vodka, however they claim they use the original redbull that originated in Thailand. I am not a redbull expert, so I didn't taste too much of a difference, but its a cool idea. The menu has a lot of options, with standard dishes you would expect from a Thai restaurant along with more creative choices from what they call the "eat like a bangkokian" section. I normally like to pick something more interesting over pad thai, but Room Service offers the standard version and the bangkok version which is actually wrapped in an egg crepe. A note at the bottom of the menu suggests adding on sun-dried shrimp, a typical bangkok snack. How could I resist that? The Room Service Pad Thai is presented beautifully and comes with regular shrimp (good), scallops and mussels (not as good) along with noodles that benefited from the hot sauce dotted along the side of the plate and th mango shreds on top. I really liked the sun dried shrimp, they are briny and have a fun texture, like some kind of shrimp jerky. The Bangkok pumpkin chicken curry had the perfect level of spiciness, but I would have liked to taste more pumpkin instead of just a standard curry taste.

I would love to come back here for dinner as well as for the lunch special. One last noteworthy element of this place would be the flashy/sexy ethnic garb of the staff, they match the pretty plates and interior.

2 comments:

I couldn't believe it was another freakin' thai place too! It would be nice for a new restaurant to open in my hood, and not be thai. Looks like it's not going to happen.

Also, I've eaten Pad Thai in Bangkok- and that doesn't look like any pad thai I've ever seen. Are you sure that's the right photo? what the hell is that thing!?! I don't even know what i'm looking at...

Still going to try this place though. I'm a sucker for places that claim to be the real deal! :-)

You are looking at the "Room Service Pad Thai" in all its glory. Its basically like a regular pad thai except thinner noodles and more seafood covered by an egg white wrapper. Maybe I should post an innards pic.

I am so good at eating!

Yes, another jew girl with a food blog. I have been eating and writing about it for as long as I can remember. I started this little blog about where I eat and drink around NYC (and now Philly!) to entertain my mom, dad, sister, and a few close friends... but if you enjoy it too, well that just warms my heart.Contact me at fressagirl@gmail.com

P.S. I love comments!

Update (July 2012) Working on posting the cheap eats I make in my kitchen and other cheap yet classy things. Read my lunch reviews at Midtown Lunch Philadelphia.